My invention is a kind of table coversxe2x80x94decorative and protective extension runners.
The invention of this application is described in the inventor""s Disclosure Document Ser. No. 472,472, filed Apr. 2, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by reference into this patent application.
The prior art teaches a variety of table coverings. These include flat sheet coverings, scored and folded coverings, and covers actively secured (tied or clipped) to the table.
Flat Sheet Covering
The simplest prior art table coverings include table cloths, a single sheet of flat material covering substantially all of the table surface, and place mats, placed under plates and occasionally also in the middle of the table, under centerpieces and the like. Such flat-piece constructs are easy and inexpensive to make, yet may not cover the entire surface to be protected, or may not xe2x80x9cfitxe2x80x9d the surface well.
Thus, the more complex prior art involves taking a flat sheet and modifying it to make it fit the table surface better. Such fitting has been accomplished in two general approaches: first, by passively fitting the cover to the table by scoring and folding or tearing the cover; and second, by actively holding the cover to the table by adding tie flaps, clips or other restraints to actively hold the cover to the table surface.
Scored and Folded Articles
Glover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,050, discloses a table cover consisting of a sheet of non-absorbent material adapted to overlie a table and depend at its edges about the table. The invention is a single sheet, formed with a plurality of separate flaps extending peripherally about a central portion of the sheet. The flaps are adapted to overlie the edge portions of the table.
Vanlseghem, U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,976, discloses a roll of flexible material divided into multiple individual table place setting sections. The sections are separated from each other by perforations for removal of one or more as desired.
Cohen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,099, discloses a table mat of rectangular construction of disposable, xe2x80x9crelatively heavy paperxe2x80x9d covering the entire table top. Because relatively heavy paper bends somewhat clumsily, Cohen requires at least one pair of parallel lines of perforations, scores or creases. These scores in the heavy paper permit end areas of the mat to be folded down to drape over the sides of a table.
Tied or Clipped Covers
Fink, U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,104, discloses a table place mat having a cover removably attached to a rigid support member. The support member is preferably made of a wood material, and the cover is formed of a flexible material and provided with elastic material along its perimeter to maintain the cover in position around the rigid support.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,363, discloses a table covering apparatus for securing a table covering to a table, utilizing a series of opposed pairs of strips releasably attached to a location underneath one edge of the table.
Hairston et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,802, discloses a table cover system that includes a top and a side when the table cover is spread upon a table. An elongated panel includes a plurality of xe2x80x9celongated, slender cloth segmentsxe2x80x9d or hanging loops there-along, and is configured to fasten to the side of the table cover.
Abeyta et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,506019, discloses a table cover for covering a top surface and open side areas of a table. The inventive device includes a top cover web having opposed top cover longitudinal edges thereof place able over the top surface of an associated table structure. A first side web drape is coupled to a first edge of the top cover so as to hang downwardly there from to cover a first open side area of the table.
Forman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,012, discloses an adaptable, disposable place mat which includes a sheet of cellulose material and adhesive on their bottom surfaces for affixing them to a dining surface.
Figueroa, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,183, teaches a combination table cover and skirt retainer, connectable to the edges of a table, comprising a top cover, a skirt, and retainer members connectable to the top cover and the skirt.
Summary of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses examples of table coverings which passively fit the cover to the table by scoring and folding or tearing, or which actively hold the cover by tie strips, clips or the like. What is needed, however, is a table cover which is both: (1) as simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to use as a single-piece flat table cover, and (2) which has the ability to fit any size table well, like the covers which are scored, folded, tied, and/or clipped or the like. Similarly, the prior art table covers cover the entire table surface. While this may be desirable for unattractive tables, many people invest in beautiful dining tables, so there is a need for a protective cover which both selectively protects the parts of the table needing protection (e.g., near plates), yet also reveals the attractive table surface in other areas.
I have found a way.
My invention is at once simple and, because it is so elegant, really effective. My invention comprises using one or more xe2x80x9cextension runners.xe2x80x9d The term xe2x80x9cextension runnerxe2x80x9d is a phrase I coined (as there is no pre-existing phrase to denote my invention) to denote a placemat-type article of reusable textile or fabric which is about the width of a placemat (roughly eighteen to twenty two inches wide) but, unlike a placemat, is extremely elongatedxe2x80x94so long as to be able to run the entire length (or width) of a table, and, if desired, to drape over the table edges a bit.